This is another oneshot I've written that I'm considering making into a longer fic because I've fallen in love with this AU (there's just something about tiny Rachel!) but obviously I don't want to spend time writing an ongoing fic if nobody is interested in reading it. So please let me know what you think, and if you'd like to read more.

I've have quite a few ideas for continuing this if enough people want to read it, however, the ideas I have will probably see Shelby ending up in a polyamorous relationship with Hiram and Leroy. If I did continue this fic, would that be something you'd like or something you'd rather not see?"

Hello?" Shelby was eating breakfast in her small apartment when her phone rang with a call from a number she didn't recognise. She briefly considered just ignoring the call, letting it go to voicemail but then she remembered the audition she'd been to the week before and decided to answer the call, just in case.

"Shelby?" the voice on the phone sounded hesitant, as if they weren't sure who they were speaking to, but it was a voice she recognised instantly.

"Hiram? What… Is everything okay? Is… Is she okay?"

"Rachel" Hiram said softly, "her name's Rachel, and she's fine, she's more than fine, she's perfect."

"Rachel" Shelby whispered as she smiled slightly, it had taken almost three years but she finally knew her daughters name.

"Yeah."

Shelby shook her head, "I don't, not that I'm not pleased to hear from you, I just don't understand…"

"You want to know why I'm calling?"

"Yeah." Shelby nodded, swirling the remains of her coffee around her mug before downing the lukewarm liquid.

She heard Hiram sigh, "we've been looking for you for a while" he said honestly, "we realised almost as soon as she was born that the contract was a big mistake and we wanted to know if you'd like to meet her."

"I…" Shelby wanted to cry, "you, you're serious?"

"We're serious, we came to see you in the hospital before we took Rachel home to talk about giving you access but they told us you'd discharged yourself." Hiram remembered how devastated he and Leroy had been when they'd arrived home from the hospital the night Rachel had been born to find all Shelby's belongings had gone, the only sign she'd ever been in the house were the key she'd left on the sideboard and a soft grey stuffed rabbit that she'd left in the crib in the nursery, hoping that Hiram and Leroy would give it to their baby.

"Yeah, I didn't… I didn't want to stick around" she said honestly, Shelby's mind too flashing back to the day she'd given birth, to the private room on the maternity ward, isolated from everyone but surrounded by happy parents and the cries of newborns reminding her of what she'd given away. The doctors had advised that she stayed in for 24 hours to be sure everything was okay but she didn't want to stay that long and signed herself out of the hospital just six hours after giving birth, getting a cab to the house that had been her home for the past year, packing up her things and then getting another cab to a motel where she'd stayed for a week to let herself recover before boarding the train to New York and trying to move on with her life.

"That's understandable, but if you want to see her then we can sort something out. Where are you living now?"

"I'm in New York" Shelby told him with a smile, it had been a hard few years but she was doing what she wanted to do and she was proud of herself and the things she'd achieve, and she hoped Rachel would be proud of her too. "I'm in my final year at college, I've started auditioning for a couple of shows, hopefully I'll pick something up for after graduation."

"Any director would be lucky to have you on their stage" Hiram could hear the pride in Shelby's voice, the man genuinely happy for her, "but it sounds like it would be easier for Leroy and I to come to you than for you to come to us, so why don't you message me some dates that are good for you and we'll work something out, assuming you want us to bring Rachel to visit you that is."

"I would love to meet her" Shelby felt herself tearing up at the thought of finally getting to meet the child she'd carried, "but you don't have to come up here, I can skip a few classes and…"

"I don't think so" Hiram chuckled, "you keep studying, keep pushing yourself Shelby, you were born to be on Broadway, you're not going to throw it away now. Leroy and I will come and visit, and if everything goes okay, maybe you could even have Rachel one night so he and I can catch a show together."

"I'd love that" Shelby nodded, "I'll message you some dates then?"

"Sounds good to me, I've got to go, Rachel will be waking up from her nap soon, but I'll speak to Leroy once we have your dates and find something that works for us too and let you know when we're going to come up."

"Okay, thank you Hiram."

"My pleasure" he smiled down the phone, "look after yourself Shelby."

Shelby said goodbye to Hiram and hung up the call, looking down at her phone, unable to believe the conversation she'd just had, she felt like she was dreaming, but she wanted to believe it, wanted more than anything to meet her baby girl. So she grabbed her diary, finding she was free most weekends for the next couple of months, but not wanting to seem too eager, she sent Hiram a message with a few dates, telling him it was nice to speak to him. His reply came quickly, 'That's great, I'll speak to Leroy tonight and let you know. It was great to speak to you too and we'll see you soon, I promise.'

Hiram was almost bouncing with excitement when Leroy got home that evening, but he managed to keep himself together until Rachel was tucked up in her bed that night.

"So" Hiram grinned at his husband, "guess what I did today?"

"I don't know" Leroy chuckled, "why don't you enlighten me?"

"I made a phone call" he beamed

"A phone call?" Leroy frowned, not sure why that would excite his husband so much.

"A phone call" Hiram nodded, "to a certain someone who is apparently in New York, in their final year at college, doing well and auditioning for shows, hoping to get something lined up after graduation."

Leroy's eyes widened, "you've found Shelby?"

"I have."

"That's amazing" Leroy kissed Hiram, "did you…"

"I said it sounded like it would be easier for us to go out to her, so she's sent me a few weekends where she's free, I said I'd speak to you to find a date that worked for both of us too and let her know."

"I can't believe you found her" Leroy shook his head, "I was beginning to think that she'd fallen off the face of the Earth or something. When is she free? Is she okay? Does she want us to go see her?"

Hiram showed Leroy the list of dates Shelby had given him, "she sounded great, really happy and proud of herself and what she's doing, and she said she'd love to meet Rachel."

"Okay" Leroy grinned, pecking Hiram's lips before opening his own diary, "let's see how soon we can get that Mommy and her baby together."

It was just over a month before Hiram and Leroy were able to make it out to New York, and, as Shelby had no classes on a Friday afternoon she arranged to meet Hiram, Leroy, and most importantly, Rachel at a coffee shop not too far from the hotel Hiram told her they'd be staying at.

She'd been in contact with the men a few times since Hiram's initial phone call, they'd sent her pictures of Rachel and brought her up to date on the girl's likes and dislikes, telling them about her energetic personality and how much she reminded both men of the woman who'd carried her.

Even so, Shelby was still incredibly nervous, arriving at the coffee shop almost half an hour before she was meant to be meeting the men, ordering herself a coffee and choosing a quiet table at the back of the cafe, trying to fight back the urge to pace nervously and bite her nails.

Ten minutes before they'd arranged to meet, Hiram messaged Shelby to let her know that they were just leaving the hotel and might be a few minutes late, but they weren't, almost right on time, the two men entered the coffee shop, toddler walking between them holding both their hands.

She stood from her seat, waving awkwardly, Hiram pointing her out as they crossed the cafe to greet her.

"Shelby, hi" Leroy raised an eyebrow at the hand held towards him, choosing instead to pull her into a tight hug, Hiram doing the same.

"Are we going to stand here or shall we sit down?" Hiram asked, Shelby chuckling slightly as she slipped back into the bench seat she'd been sitting on, Hiram and Leroy sitting in the chairs opposite her. Hiram reached to lift Rachel onto his lap once he'd sat down, planning to introduce her to Shelby, but he was too late.

"Hi" Rachel scrambled up to sit on the bench beside Shelby, intrigued by the woman that her Daddys had just hugged, "Me Way" she held our her hand.

Shelby smiled, "I'm Shelby" she introduced herself and shook the hand she'd been offered.

Rachel sat back on her heels, studying the woman beside her for a moment before asking, "you my fwend?"

"Actually Rachel" Hiram said softly, "Shelby's your Mommy."

Rachel frowned as she looked up at Shelby, "Mo-ma" she rolled the syllables around her mouth, the sound of them almost foreign to her. She didn't really understand, a lot of her friends from daycare had Mommys that collected them at the end of the day but she had her Dada and she had her Papa, but now they were telling her that this lady was her Momma.

"That's right" Shelby nodded, "but you can call me Shelby if you want."

"No" Rachel said firmly, Hiram and Leroy smirking slightly as Rachel's stubborn streak made an appearance, "No Lelby. Momma."

"Okay" Shelby held her hands up in mock surrender, "you can call me Momma."

Rachel nodded before looking up at Shelby and holding out her arms, "hug now?" This woman had hugged both her fathers, and there was nothing Rachel loved more than snuggles, she was sure she'd seen her friends hugging their Moms at daycare before and now she had a Momma, she wanted in.

Shelby held her arms out, heart swelling with love as Rachel scrambled to her feet, standing on the bench as she wrapped her arms around Shelby's neck and squeezed as tightly as she could, Shelby's arms easily wrapping around the toddler's waist, mother and daughter oblivious to the fact that Leroy was snapping pictures of them and Hiram was wiping away tears.

"Are you going to sit down now Sunshine?" Leroy asked, "give Shelby a break from your hugs?"

"No Lelby!" Rachel scowled at her father, "Momma" she corrected him, but followed his instructions anyway, releasing her grip on Shelby but surprising everyone when she chose to plop down in her lap instead of sitting beside her, she wasn't entirely sure what a Momma was, but she was sure that she liked this woman and wanted to keep her attention for a while.

"Well" Hiram chuckled, "I don't think any of us need to ask how we think this meeting went.

"No" Shelby chuckled as Rachel settled down on her lap, "we don't."

"Rachel could charm anyone if she puts her mind to it." Leroy too was happy that Rachel had taken the news well.

Shelby nodded and gently stroked her daughter's back, "she certainly is something."

"Do you want a drink?" Hiram asked Shelby as he stood. Intending to get coffee for them all.

"I'd love a cappuccino please" Shelby reached for her purse, but Hiram shook his head and told her he'd get it.

"Do you want a hot chocolate Rach?" he asked the girl who was happily playing with the rings on Shelby's fingers.

"No" she didn't look up as she shook her head, "want mappymeemo" she didn't know what that was, but if her Momma was having one then she wanted one too.

"Rachel" Hiram wasn't sure how he was going to convince Rachel that she couldn't have a coffee without a tantrum but luckily he didn't need to.

"They do a 'babycino' here" Shelby told him, "it's just steamed milk with a bit of cocoa powder sprinkled on top, I don't know if…" she trailed off, not sure if she should have interfered.

Hiram smiled and nodded, "that sounds great, do you want anything to eat?"

Shelby shook her head, "I'm good thanks."

Rachel didn't wait to be asked, still not looking up from Shelby's hands, "I good too".

"You're cheeky, I'll give you that" Hiram laughed as he went to order their drinks.

"Hiram said you're auditioning for shows" Leroy tried to make conversation, smiling as he saw Shelby dancing her fingers across the table, Rachel giggling as she tried to grab at her Mom's hand.

Shelby nodded. "There's one in particular that I've got my eye on, I can't really say too much because I don't think it's been announced formally yet, but it's a new show and I think they're probably going to want a big name for the lead, an ensemble part would be good though, you've got to start somewhere."

"You have" Leroy nodded, "you'll have to let us know when you find something, Hiram and I will come and see you."

"If I get something then I'll let you know" Shelby nodded.

"You'll get something" Leroy reassured her, "with a voice like yours you'll be snapped up before you know it."

"So…" Hiram put the tray down on the table a couple of minutes later, "the man at the counter asked if I was with you, and when I said yes, he told me the drinks were on the house." Shelby glanced up and smiled, raising her hand in a wave to the man, "anything you want to tell us?" he raised an eyebrow.

"That's Mark" Shelby laughed, "he's the owner. I work here when I'm not at college, and I usually pick up all the shifts no one else wants to do. He owes me a couple of favours anyway, a couple of free drinks is the least he can do."

"Oh" Hiram pouted slightly as he sat down, "that's not the interesting gossip I was hoping for" he joked.

"Sorry to disappoint" Shelby chuckled, "but Mark's more likely to be interested in you than me, and I'm quite happily single."

The three adults easily fell into conversation as they drank their coffee, Rachel occasionally interrupting with a comment or something she wanted her Momma to know. Shelby was surprised how comfortable she felt, Hiram and Leroy somehow making her feel just like they had when she'd lived with them during her pregnancy, and it felt almost like it had been just three hours since they'd last seen each other, not the better part of three years.

"Rachel" Hiram said softly, "do you need to go potty before we leave?" he asked as he helped Rachel into her jacket, they'd finished their coffees, Rachel over the moon that, in her eyes, she'd had the same drink as her Momma, and as they'd been talking they'd decided that to spend a while in the park before getting dinner together so Rachel could burn off some of the energy that was starting to make her a little fussy and restless.

Rachel's eyes narrowed as she looked between her fathers and Shelby before shaking her head and unconvincingly answering "nooooo". She did need the potty but she didn't want her Momma to go away while she was gone and she wasn't sure if Momma would help her use the bathroom instead of Dada or Papa.

"Are you sure?" Hiram raised an eyebrow as he saw Rachel begin to shuffle slightly, something he and Leroy referred to as her potty dance.

"I no potty" Rachel insisted.

Shelby bit her lip, not sure if she should get involved but at the same time, she knew that, for whatever reason, Rachel was lying about needing the toilet, "I think I'm going to go before we leave" she announced, asking Rachel, "will you wait here for me while I go to the potty?"

"No" Rachel grabbed at Shelby's hand, "me potty, go now!"

"Is that okay?" Shelby asked Hiram and Leroy as Rachel tugged on her hand.

Leroy nodded, "she's all yours Momma, we'll wait here for you."

Shelby took Rachel to the ladies bathroom, feeling a little out of her depth, she should probably have asked Rachel's fathers how much help the girl needed. Rachel however wasn't bothered at all by her Momma accompanying her, and she clumsily managed to pull down her leggings and her underwear before holding out her arms. Shelby lifted Rachel up to sit her on the toilet, the fact that Rachel didn't let go telling Shelby she wanted her to keep hold of her, "you going now?" Rachel asked, swinging her legs slightly as she peed.

Shelby shook her head, "we're going to go for a walk in the park with Daddy and Papa and then we're going to get some dinner."

"And you dinner?" Shelby handed Rachel some toilet paper when she reached for it.

"I'm coming for dinner too" Shelby nodded, straightening Rachel's clothes once the toddler had redressed herself.

Rachel nodded, happy with that answer as she pointed to the toilet, telling Shelby, "you turn."

Shelby helped Rachel wash her hands once she'd finished and they walked back to Hiram and Leroy hand in hand. "Everything okay?" Hiram asked with a smile.

"Yep" Rachel beamed, still clinging to Shelby's hand, "I pee, and Momma too."

"Well done" Leroy and Hiram both high fived Rachel, the way they always praised her when she managed to use the bathroom without an accident.

Rachel frowned, "Momma pee too!"

Hiram bit his lip to stop himself laughing and held up his hand, "well done" he smirked as Shelby reluctantly returned the high five.

"Thanks" Shelby rolled her eyes as Leroy high fived her too."

"You gu'girl" Rachel told Shelby as she too held up her hand.

"Thanks" Shelby smiled genuinely as she high fived her daughter, "you're a good girl too."

"I know" Rachel nodded as she led Shelby to the door, "we go now" she decided, she was bored of talking, her Momma had told her they were going to the park and she wanted to play, wanted her Momma to push her on the swing and help her cross the monkey bars, so she started walking, trusting her Momma to lead the way and her Daddy and Papa to follow her. She might not be sure what it meant to have a Momma, but she liked it, liked the way her hand felt in her Momma's, Momma's skin softer than Dada and Papa's, she liked Momma's smile and she liked the big hug she'd given her too. No, Rachel might not know what it meant to have a Momma but she certainly hoped a Momma was someone who she'd get to see again.